U.S. patent number 7,333,167 [Application Number 10/229,048] was granted by the patent office on 2008-02-19 for electrooptical device and electronic equipment having resin film in light emitting region and sealing region.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Seiko Epson Corporation. Invention is credited to Tomomi Kawase.
United States Patent |
7,333,167 |
Kawase |
February 19, 2008 |
Electrooptical device and electronic equipment having resin film in
light emitting region and sealing region
Abstract
The present invention provides a color filter substrate that can
include color filters 12, which are formed in at least a display
region and each of which are composed of colored portions, and a
light shielding layer on a substrate main body. The light shielding
layer can be formed on the approximately entire surface of a color
filter non-forming region, in addition to the display region.
Further, the colored portions can be formed by an inkjet method,
and the color filter substrate can further include a resin member
for partitioning pixels for forming the respective colored
portions, and the resin member can be formed on the approximately
entire surface of the color filter non-forming region, in addition
to along the peripheries of the respective colored portions.
Inventors: |
Kawase; Tomomi (Matsumoto,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Seiko Epson Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
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Family
ID: |
19087367 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/229,048 |
Filed: |
August 28, 2002 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20030076572 A1 |
Apr 24, 2003 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 29, 2001 [JP] |
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2001-260121 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
349/106; 349/153;
349/110 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B
5/201 (20130101); H01L 27/3283 (20130101); G02F
1/1339 (20130101); H01L 27/3246 (20130101); G02B
5/223 (20130101); G02F 1/133354 (20210101); H01L
27/3244 (20130101); H01L 51/5237 (20130101); G02F
1/133512 (20130101); G02F 1/13394 (20130101); H01L
27/3288 (20130101); H01L 51/56 (20130101); H01L
27/3211 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02F
1/1335 (20060101); G02F 1/1333 (20060101); G02F
1/1339 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;349/106,110,122,153,190 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0 880 303 |
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Nov 1998 |
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EP |
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0 902 315 |
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Mar 1999 |
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EP |
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1 003 065 |
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May 2000 |
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EP |
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1061383 |
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Dec 2000 |
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EP |
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3039957 |
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Feb 1991 |
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JP |
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A-05-241153 |
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Sep 1993 |
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JP |
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A-06-118217 |
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Apr 1994 |
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JP |
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7235378 |
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Sep 1995 |
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JP |
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10012377 |
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Jan 1998 |
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JP |
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10153967 |
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Jun 1998 |
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JP |
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A-10-153967 |
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Jun 1998 |
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JP |
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11040358 |
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Feb 1999 |
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JP |
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11054270 |
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Feb 1999 |
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JP |
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A-11-084121 |
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Mar 1999 |
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JP |
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2001-188117 |
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Jul 2001 |
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JP |
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A-2001-188117 |
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Jul 2001 |
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JP |
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Other References
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition, Copyright
2001, p. 90. cited by examiner.
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Primary Examiner: Caley; Michael H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oliff & Berridge, PLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An electrooptical device, comprising: a pair of opposing
substrates having electrodes on inner surfaces thereof and an
electrooptical material held therebetween, the pair of substrates
being bonded by a seal formed on the inner surfaces of the pair of
substrates, and at least one of the pair of substrates being a
color filter substrate having a plurality of color filters formed
in a region surrounded by a seal portion in which the seal is
formed; and a resin film that is formed on a light shielding layer
of the color filter substrate in the region including where the
seal portion is formed, as well as another region surrounding an
entire periphery of the color filters, a bank being formed of the
resin film between adjacent color filters on the color filter
substrate, a substantially entire portion of the seal being formed
directly on the inner surface of one of the pair of substrates and
directly on the electrodes of opposing substrate of the pair of
substrates, the opposing substrate being the color filter
substrate.
2. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the color filter
substrate having alignment marks formed of the resin film.
3. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the resin film
having a film thickness between 0.5 .mu.m and 5 .mu.m.
4. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the resin film
being provided to partition sections in which respective color
filter portions are formed when the color filters are formed by an
inkjet method.
5. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the resin film
being formed of a material having liquid repellency with respect to
a liquid material that forms the color filters.
6. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the resin film
being formed of a material having a light shielding property.
7. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the resin film
being formed of a material having an electric insulating
property.
8. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the seal being
formed of a material containing particles that maintains a gap
between the pair of substrates constant and an adhesive that bonds
the pair of substrates.
9. Electronic equipment, comprising the electrooptical device
according to claim 1.
10. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the
electrooptical device further comprising: an orientation film
formed on the inner surfaces of each of the substrates, the
orientation film not extending into the region where the seal
portion is formed.
11. An electrooptical device, comprising: a first substrate; a
second substrate opposing the first substrate, the second substrate
being a color filter substrate having a plurality of color filters,
each of the substrates having electrodes on inner surfaces thereof
and an electrooptical material held therebetween; a seal that bonds
the first substrate and the second substrate, the seal being formed
on the inner surfaces of each of the first substrate and the second
substrate, the color filters being formed in a region surrounded by
a seal portion in which the seal is formed; a resin film that is
formed on a light shielding layer of the second substrate in the
region including where the seal portion is formed, as well as
another region surrounding an entire periphery of color filters;
and a bank being formed of the resin film between adjacent color
filters on the second substrate, a substantially entire portion of
the seal being formed directly on the inner surface of the first
substrate and directly on the electrodes of the second
substrate.
12. The electrooptical device according to claim 1, the
electrooptical device further comprising: an orientation film
formed on the inner surfaces of the first substrate and the second
substrate, the orientation film not extending into the region where
the seal portion is formed.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a color filter substrate having
color filters on a substrate main body, an electroluminescence
substrate having electroluminescence elements on a substrate main
body, and an electrooptical device having the color filter
substrate or the electroluminescence substrate, as well as to
electronic equipment having the electrooptical device.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, a liquid crystal device that can be used as a direct
viewing type display device mounted on electronic equipment, such
as a mobile phone, is mainly composed of a pair of substrates
disposed in confrontation with each other with a liquid crystal
layer held therebetween and having electrodes for applying a
voltage to the liquid crystal layer. Further, a liquid crystal
device having color filters disposed on one of substrates to
perform a full color display has been widely used.
An example of such a conventional liquid crystal device having
color filters will be explained with reference to a passive matrix
type transmissive liquid crystal device based on FIG. 10. FIG. 10
shows a fragmentary sectional view showing a structure of the
exemplary conventional liquid crystal device. The conventional
transmissive liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 10 is
schematically arranged such that a color filter substrate 200 and a
confronting substrate 300, which act as a pair of substrates, are
disposed in confrontation with each other with a liquid crystal
layer 400 held therebetween. The color filter substrate 200 is
bonded to the confronting substrate 300 at the respective
peripheral edges thereof through a seal member 500.
The color filter substrate 200 is schematically arranged such that
color filters 220, an overcoat layer 230, transparent electrodes
240, and an orientation film 250 are sequentially laminated on the
surface of a substrate main body 210 on the liquid crystal layer
400 side thereof. The confronting substrate 300 is schematically
arranged such that transparent electrodes 320 and an orientation
film 330 are sequentially laminated on the surface of a substrate
main body 310 on the liquid crystal layer 400 side thereof.
The plurality of transparent electrodes 240 are disposed on the
color filter substrate 200 and the plurality of transparent
electrodes 320 are disposed on the confronting substrate 300 in a
stripe shape. The respective transparent electrodes 240 and the
respective transparent electrodes 320 extend in directions which
intersect each other. Then, the regions, where the respective
transparent electrodes 240 intersect the respective transparent
electrodes 320, are arranged as respective pixels, and each color
filter 220 has red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colored portions
220R, 220G, and 220B formed thereto in a predetermined pattern in
correspondence to the respective pixels. Further, light shielding
layers 220X are formed between the adjacent pixels on the color
filter substrate 200.
While the color filters 220 are formed in a display region 610,
located at least inside the inner end surface of the seal member
500, there can exist cases in which they are formed only in the
display region 610 and a case in which they are additionally formed
outside the display region 610 by several pixels. FIG. 10 shows the
case in which the color filters 220 are additionally formed outside
the display region 610 by the several pixels. Further, a color
filter forming region is denoted by reference numeral 600. It
should be noted that, while the width of the colored portions 220R
to 220B is shown in enlargement in the figure, actually, the width
of them is very minute and set to about 0.15 to 0.3 mm, whereas the
interval between the inner end surface of the seal member 500 and
the display region 610 or the color filter forming region 600 is
set to about 0.2 to 3 mm which is relatively larger than the width
of the colored portions 220R to 220B.
Accordingly, in the conventional transmissive liquid crystal
device, a region where the color filters 220 are not formed
inevitably exists at the peripheral edge of the region, which is
located inside the seal member 500 and in which the liquid crystal
layer 400 is enclosed. This can be true not only in the case in
which the color filters 220 are formed only in the display region
610, but also in the case in which the color filters 220 are
additionally formed outside the display region 610 by the several
pixels. Thus, as shown in the figure, a step, which corresponds to
the height (0.7 to 3 .mu.m) of the color filters 220, can be formed
on the surface of the color filter substrate 200 along the boundary
between the color filter forming region 600 and the color filter
non-forming region (outside the forming region 600).
In contrast, recently, there have been developed technologies for
an electroluminescence device acting as a display device making use
of electroluminescence elements. With respect to an organic
electroluminescence (EL) element using an organic material as a
light emitting material, there have been mainly reported a method
of forming a low molecular organic EL element (light emitting
material) to a film by vapor deposition as shown on page 913 of
Appl. Phis. Lett. 51(12), Sep. 21, 1987 and a method of coating a
high molecular organic EL element as shown on page 34 of Appl.
Phys. Lett. 71 (1), Jul. 7, 1997, both articles being incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.
As a coloring device, a method of vapor depositing different light
emitting materials on desired pixels through a mask is executed in
the low molecular material. In contrast, as to the high molecular
material, attention is paid to colorization by minute patterning
using an inkjet method. The following examples are known as to the
formation of organic EL elements using an inkjet method. That is,
they are Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos.
7-235378, 10-12377, 10-153967, 11-40358, 11-54270, 3-39957, and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,196.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Incidentally, in general, when a display device, such as a liquid
crystal device and an organic EL element is mounted on electronic
equipment, such as a mobile phone, the display screen of the
electronic equipment is set about 0.5 to 3 mm wider than the
display region of the display device. Accordingly, display can be
performed without any problem even if the display region of the
display device is somewhat dislocated from the display screen of
the electronic equipment exposed from the window of the case of the
electronic equipment.
Accordingly, when the display device is mounted on the electronic
equipment, such as a mobile phone, the non-display region of the
display device which is located in the vicinity of display region,
is located in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the display
screen. Thus, a parting member for shielding the non-display region
from light is attached to the electronic equipment having the
display device mounted thereof to prevent the non-display region of
the display device from being observed by an observer. As described
above, since the parting member is conventionally disposed
independently of the other elements constituting the display
device, a process for attaching the parting member is additionally
required, from which problems can arise that the number of the
processes for manufacturing the electronic equipment is
increased.
Further, the parting member is made by coating a black pigment on a
resin molded member. However, since a cost for coating the black
pigment on the resin molded member is expensive, problems can arise
that the manufacturing cost of the electronic equipment is
increased.
Further, since a mounting accuracy is limited when the parting
member is attached to the electronic equipment, a margin of about
.+-.0.1 to 2 mm must be provided so that display can be performed
without any problem even if the inner end of the parting member is
somewhat dislocated from the outer end of the display region of the
display device, from which a problem is arisen in that the area of
the display region of the electronic equipment (display device) is
reduced by the margin.
Further, as described above, the step corresponding to the height
of the color filters can be formed on the surface of the color
filter substrate constituting the conventional liquid crystal
device shown in FIG. 10 along the boundary between the color filter
forming region and the color filter non-forming region. Therefore,
in the region which is located inside of the seal member and in
which the liquid crystal layer is enclosed, the cell gap of the
color filter non-forming region is larger than the cell gap of the
color filter forming region including the display region by the
step. The cell gap of the display region can be around several
microns to ten microns, whereas the thickness of the color filters
is about 0.7 to 3 .mu.m. Accordingly, the difference between the
cell gap in the color filter forming region and the cell gap in the
color filter non-forming region is not negligible. Thus, there is
also a problem that the height of the seal depends on the thickness
of the color filters.
In a liquid crystal device using an STN (super twisted nematic)
type liquid crystal, a light transmittance varies in accordance
with the change of a .DELTA.n.quadrature.d value (where, .DELTA.n
shows the double refraction factor of a liquid crystal, and d shows
a cell gap). Thus, when there is a difference in the cell gap
between the color filter forming region and the color filter
non-forming region, different light transmittances are exhibited in
these regions. While a color filter non-forming region belongs to
the non-display region, there is a possibility that the light
transmittance of the color filter non-forming region slightly
affects the light transmittance of the peripheral edge of the
display region, that is, the display region which is located in the
vicinity of the non-display region. Then, when the light
transmittance of the color filter non-forming region affects the
light transmittance of the peripheral edge of the display region,
the brightness of the peripheral edge of the display region is
changed. Thus, there is a possibility that a contract is reduced
and display quality is deteriorated.
It should be noted that while the above problems are particularly
outstanding in a passive matrix type liquid crystal device in which
light transmittance is greatly affected by cell gaps, they may
occur in any liquid crystal devices.
The transparent electrodes are formed on the color filter in the
color filter substrate constituting the conventional liquid crystal
device shown in FIG. 10. However, since the thickness of the
transparent electrodes is as thin as about 0.1 to 0.2 .mu.m, when a
step is formed between the color filter forming region and the
color filter non-forming region on the surface of the color filter
substrate, there is also a possibility that the transparent
electrodes (or lead wirings connected to one ends of the
transparent electrodes) are broken at the step.
Note that while the electrodes are formed on the color filters in a
passive matrix type liquid crystal device as shown in FIG. 10,
wirings such as data lines and scan lines instead of the electrodes
may be formed on the color filters in an active matrix type liquid
crystal device using TFT elements and TFD elements as switching
elements. In this case, there is also a possibility that the
wirings such as data lines and scan lines (or lead wirings
connected to the one ends of the wirings such as data lines and
scan lines) are broken at the step.
The above problems caused by the step formed between the color
filter forming region and the color filter non-forming region can
be remedied by reducing the thickness of the color filters.
However, when the thickness of the color filters is reduced, the
concentration of coloring materials contained in colored portions
must be increased. However, the reduction of the thickness of the
color filters is difficult because it can be technically difficult
to thinly and uniformly coat a resist of high concentration.
Further, alignment marks, which are used when the color filters or
the organic EL elements are made by an inkjet method, must be
formed separately from inter-pixel partition members, from which a
problem is arisen in that the number of processes is increased.
The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances,
and a first object of the present invention is to provide a
technique capable of forming a parting member and the other
components constituting a display device in one process and
reducing a manufacturing cost of electronic equipment, as well as
increasing the area of the display region of the electronic
equipment. A second object of the present invention is to provide a
technique capable of more flattening the surface of a color filter
substrate than that of a conventional color filter substrate and
arranging cell gaps uniformly as well as preventing electrodes,
wirings, and the like formed on color filters from being broken. A
third object of the present invention is to provide a technique
capable of reducing the number of processes by forming alignment
marks simultaneously with the patterning of partition members.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, wherein like numerals reference like elements, and
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a transmissive liquid crystal device of a
first embodiment according to the present invention when it is
viewed from a confronting substrate side;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a color filter substrate constituting the
transmissive liquid crystal device of the first embodiment
according to the present invention when it is viewed from a liquid
crystal layer side;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the confronting substrate constituting the
transmissive liquid crystal device of the first embodiment
according to the present invention when it is viewed from the
liquid crystal layer side;
FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of color filters included in the
transmissive liquid crystal device of the first embodiment
according to the present invention when they are viewed from the
liquid crystal layer side;
FIG. 5 is a partial plan view showing a structure of the
transmissive liquid crystal device of the first embodiment
according to the present invention;
FIGS. 6(a) to (e) are process views showing a method of forming the
color filters, light shielding layers, and resin members included
in the transmissive liquid crystal device of the first embodiment
according to the present invention;
FIGS. 7(a), (b) are enlarged plan views showing a corner portion of
the color filter substrate included in the transmissive liquid
crystal device of the first embodiment according to the present
invention;
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a
transmissive liquid crystal device of a third embodiment according
to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a
transmissive liquid crystal device of a fourth embodiment according
to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a structure of a conventional
transmissive liquid crystal device;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an example of a method of
manufacturing an organic EL device by an inkjet system;
FIG. 12(A) to (C) is a sectional view showing an example of a
method of manufacturing an organic EL device by an inkjet system
according to the present invention;
FIGS. 13(A) and (B) are schematic views explaining a method of
manufacturing an organic EL device of an embodiment 4 and show the
loci of an inkjet head, and alignment marks on the substrate;
and
FIG. 14(a) is a view showing an example of a mobile phone including
a transmissive liquid crystal device of any of the above
embodiments, FIG. 14(b) is a view showing an example of a mobile
information processing apparatus including a transmissive liquid
crystal device of any of the above embodiments, and FIG. 14(c) is a
view showing an example of a wrist watch type electronic equipment
including a transmissive liquid crystal device of any of the above
embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an
electrooptical device composed of a pair of confronting substrates
having electrodes on the inner surfaces of the substrates and an
electrooptical material held therebetween. The pair of substrates
can be bonded by a seal formed on the inner surfaces of the
substrates, and at least one of the pair of substrates is a color
filter substrate having a plurality of color filters formed in a
region surrounded by a seal portion in which the seal is formed.
The electrooptical device is characterized in that a resin film can
be formed on the substrate described above in the region where the
seal portion is formed, as well as in the region surrounding the
entire peripheries of the color filters.
Further, the color filter substrate has alignment marks formed of
the resin film, the resin film can have a film thickness from 0.5
.mu.m to 5 .mu.m. Also, the resin film can be provided to partition
the sections in which respective color filter portions are formed
when the color filters are formed by an inkjet method and the resin
film can be formed of a material having liquid repellency with
respect to a liquid material that forms the color filters.
Additionally, the resin film can be formed of a material having a
light shielding property, and the resin film is formed of a
material having an electric insulating property. The seal is formed
of a material containing particles for keeping a gap between the
pair of substrates constant and an adhesive for bonding the pair of
substrate, and electronic equipment can be provided with the
electrooptical device.
Further, the present invention can include an electrooptical device
composed of electroluminescence elements on a substrate, each
having a light emitting layer between electrodes. The
electrooptical device can include a resin film that is formed in a
light emitting region composed of the plurality of light emitting
layers so as to surround the peripheries of the respective light
emitting layers and the resin film is formed on the substrate in
the region except the light emitting region.
Additionally, alignment marks can be formed of the material of the
resin film in the region except the light emitting region. The
resin film is formed of a material having an electric insulating
property. The electroluminescence elements are formed of an organic
material. Further, electronic equipment can be characterized by
being provided with the electrooptical device.
Next, the embodiments according to the present invention will be
described in detail. Note that while the respective embodiments are
described with reference to the figures, respective layers and
respective components are shown by a different reduction scale in
the respective figures so that they are shown in recognizable sizes
on the figures.
A structure of an electrooptical device of a first embodiment
according to the present invention will be described. This
embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is
applied to a passive matrix type transmissive liquid crystal device
acting as an electrooptical device. The liquid crystal device of
this embodiment is provided with a color filter substrate of the
present invention and has a feature in the structure of color
filters. Note that, in this embodiment, description is given of the
case, for example, in which the color filter substrate is disposed
on an observer side.
A structure of the liquid crystal device of this embodiment will be
described below based on FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the
exemplary liquid crystal device of the embodiment when it is viewed
from the side of a confronting substrate which will be described
later. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the color filter substrate
constituting the liquid crystal device of the embodiment when it is
viewed from a liquid crystal layer side. FIG. 3 is a plan view of
the confronting substrate constituting the liquid crystal device of
the embodiment when it is viewed from the liquid crystal layer
side. FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of color filters included in
the liquid crystal device of the embodiment when they are viewed
from the liquid crystal layer side and is a view showing the region
of a color filter denoted by reference numeral 57 in FIG. 2 in
enlargement. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the structure of
the liquid crystal device of the embodiment and is a fragmentary
sectional view of the liquid crystal device of the embodiment when
it is taken along the line A-A' shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the exemplary liquid crystal device 1 of the
embodiment, a color filter substrate 10 and a confronting substrate
20 acting as a pair of substrates are bonded to each other at a
predetermined interval through a seal member 40, and a liquid
crystal layer 30 is enclosed inside the seal member 40. In the
liquid crystal device 1, a display region 51 is located inside the
inner end surface of the seal member 40, and the outside of the
display region 51 is arranged as a non-display region.
The seal member 40 is annularly formed between the peripheral edges
of the color filter substrate 10 and the confronting substrate 20,
and a liquid crystal injecting hole 41 is formed through a portion
of the seal member 40 so that a liquid crystal is injected
therethrough. The liquid crystal injecting hole 41 is sealed with a
seal material 42 after the liquid crystal is injected between the
color filter substrate 10 and the confronting substrate 20 (into a
liquid cell) therefrom.
Further, a backlight (light illumination means, not shown) is
disposed to the confronting substrate 20 on the side not facing the
color filter substrate 10, and polarizers (not shown) for
permitting only specific polarized light to pass therethrough are
attached to the color filter substrate 10 and the confronting
substrate 20 on their sides not facing the liquid crystal layer 30,
respectively. Then, the light outgoing from the backlight
sequentially passes through the polarizers on the confronting
substrate 20, the confronting substrate 20, the liquid crystal
layer 30, the color filter substrate 10, and the polarizers on the
color filter substrate 10 and enters observer's eyes.
Further, the lower end of the color filter substrate 10 shown in
the figure is located outside the confronting substrate 20, and an
externally connecting terminal section (not shown), which is
described later, is disposed to the portion of the color filter
substrate 10 located outside the confronting substrate 20.
Next, the internal structure of the liquid crystal device 1 of the
embodiment will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the
color filter substrate 10 is schematically arranged by sequentially
laminating color filters 12 each composed of colored portions 12R,
12G, and 12B in a predetermined pattern, an overcoat layer 13 for
protecting the color filters 12 as well as for flattening the
surface of a substrate main body 11 on which the color filters 12
are formed, transparent electrodes 14 for applying a voltage to the
liquid crystal layer 30, and an orientation film 15 for regulating
the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid
crystal layer 30 on the surface of the substrate main body 11 on
the liquid crystal layer 30 side thereof. Further, in the color
filter substrate 10, a light shielding layer 12X and a resin member
12Y (bank) are formed at least between the adjacent colored
portions 12R-12B.
In contrast, the confronting substrate 20 is schematically arranged
by sequentially laminating transparent electrodes 22 for applying a
voltage to the liquid crystal layer 30 and an orientation film 23
for regulating the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in
the liquid crystal layer 30 on the surface of a substrate main body
21 on the liquid crystal layer 30 side thereof.
Here, the substrate main bodies 11 and 21 are composed of a
light-transmissive substrate, such as a glass and a transparent
resin, the overcoat layer 13 is composed of an organic film, and
the like, and the transparent electrodes 14 and 22 are composed of
a transparent conductive material such as an indium tin oxide,
respectively. Further, the orientation films 15 and 23 are composed
of a polyimide film, and the like the surface of which has been
subjected to rubbing. Further, a multiplicity of spherical spacers
31 composed of silicon dioxide, a resin, and the like are
interposed between the color filter substrate 10 and the
confronting substrate 20 (in the liquid crystal layer 30) to
provide a uniform cell gap.
Next, the plain structure of the transparent electrodes 14 and 22
and the structures of the lead wirings, and the like connected to
the transparent electrodes 14 and 22 will be described based on
FIGS. 2 and 3. Note that, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the seal member 40 is
omitted althought it is formed at the peripheral edges of the color
filter substrate 10 and the confronting substrate 20 outside the
display region 51.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of transparent electrodes
14 and 22 are disposed on the color filter substrate 10 and the
confronting substrate 20 in a stripe shape, and the respective
transparent electrodes 14 and the respective transparent electrodes
22 extend in directions where they intersect with each other. The
embodiment will be described as to a case in which the transparent
electrodes 14 extend in a vertical direction on the figure and the
transparent electrodes 22 extend in a lateral direction
thereon.
Lead wirings 14a and 22a are connected to one ends of the
transparent electrodes 14 and 22 formed in the display region 51.
These lead wirings 14a and 22a are disposed outside the display
region 51 (that is, in a non-display region) on the surfaces of the
color filter substrate 10 and the confronting substrate 20.
As shown in FIG. 2, on the color filter substrate 10, the lead
wirings 14a are connected to the lower ends of the transparent
electrodes 14 in the figure and disposed in the lower region of the
display region 51 in the figure. Hereinafter, the region in which
the lead wirings 14a are disposed is referred to as a lead wiring
region (lead wiring forming region) 52. In contrast, as shown in
FIG. 3, on the confronting substrate 20, the lead wirings 22a are
connected to the left ends or the right ends of the transparent
electrodes 22 on the figure and disposed in the two regions, that
is, in the right and left regions of the display region 51 on the
figure. Hereinafter, the regions in which the lead wirings 22a are
disposed are referred to as lead wiring regions 53a and 53b.
While the transparent electrodes 14 and 22 are connected to the
externally connecting terminal section through the respective lead
wirings 14a and 22a, the externally connecting terminal section is
disposed only on the color filter substrate 10 in the embodiment as
described above. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, an externally
connecting terminal section 54 for the lower electrodes (14) is
disposed at the center of an end of the color filter substrate 10,
and externally connecting terminal sections 55 for the upper
electrodes (21) are disposed on both the sides thereof. The upper
electrode externally connecting terminal sections 55 are disposed
separately at the two positions in correspondence to the lead
wiring regions 53a and 53b.
The lead wirings 14a are electrically connected to the lower
electrode externally connecting terminal section 54, and the
transparent electrodes 14 are electrically connected to the
externally connecting terminal section 54 through the lead wirings
14a. In contrast, the lead wirings 22a are connected to vertically
conducting sections 56 formed by enclosing conductive particles in
a part of the seal member 40. The vertically conducting sections 56
are disposed at two positions in correspondence to the lead wiring
regions 53a and 53b, and the respective vertically conducting
sections 56 are electrically connected to the upper electrode
externally connecting terminal section 55 disposed to the color
filter substrate 10. Accordingly, the transparent electrodes 22 are
electrically connected to the externally connecting terminal
section 55 through the lead wirings 22a and the vertically
conducting sections 56.
Then, the transparent electrodes 14 and 22 are driven by directly
mounting driving ICs (integrated circuits), which supplies signals
to the transparent electrodes 14 and 22, on the externally
connecting terminal section 54 and 55 or by electrically connecting
a flexible printed circuit, on which the driving ICs for supplying
signals to the transparent electrodes 14 and 22 are mounted, to the
externally connecting terminal section 54 and 55.
It should be noted that the wiring structure of the lead wirings
14a and 22a and the connecting structure of the lead wirings 14a
and 22a to the externally connecting terminal section 54 and 55 are
not limited to the illustrated ones and may be appropriately
designed. Further, while the embodiment is described as to a
so-called vertically conducting type in which the externally
connecting terminal sections are disposed only to one of the
substrates, it should be understood that it is also possible to
provide the externally connecting terminal sections with the
respective substrates and to electrically connecting the
transparent electrodes formed on each substrate to the same
substrate through lead wirings.
Next, the structures of the color filters 12, the light shielding
layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y included in the liquid crystal
device 1 of the embodiment will be described in detail.
As described above, the respective transparent electrodes 14 on the
color filter substrate 10 and the respective transparent electrodes
22 on the confronting substrate 20 extend in the directions that
intersect each other. Then, in the liquid crystal device 1 of the
embodiment, the regions, where the respective transparent
electrodes 14 intersect the respective transparent electrodes 22,
form respective pixels, and each of the color filters 12 has red
(R), green (G), and blue (B) colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B
formed thereto in a predetermined pattern, corresponding to each
pixel.
While the color filters 12 (colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B) are
formed in the display region 51 which is located at least inside
the inner end surface of the seal member 40, there are a case in
which they are formed only in the display region 51 and a case in
which they are additionally formed outside the display region 51 by
several pixels. In this embodiment, the case in which the color
filters 12 are additionally formed outside the display region 51,
as shown in FIG. 5, will be described. Further, hereinafter, the
region where color filters 12 (colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B)
are formed will be referred to as a color filter forming region
50.
It should be noted that, while the width of the colored portions
12R to 12B is shown in enlargement in the figure, actually, the
width of them is very minute and set to about 0.15 to 0.3 mm,
whereas the interval between the inner end surface of the seal
member 40 and the display region 51 or the color filter forming
region 50 is set to about 0.2 to 3 mm which is larger than the
width of the colored portions 12R to 12B. Accordingly, the color
filter forming region 50 is also located inside the inner end
surface of the seal member 40 similarly to the display region
51.
Further, in the color filter substrate 10, the light shielding
layer (black matrix) 12X is formed between the adjacent pixels (the
adjacent colored portions 12R-12B) in the color filter forming
region 50. Further, in the embodiment, the colored portions 12R-12B
are formed using the inkjet method, and, in the color filter
forming region 50, the resin member 12Y is formed on the light
shielding layer 12X to partition the pixels, in which the
respective colored portions 12R-12B are formed, when the colored
portions 12R-12B are formed.
It should be noted that the height of the resin member 12Y is about
1-3 .mu.m, while the light shielding layer 12X has a film thickness
of about 0.1-1.5 .mu.m. Thus, the total height of the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y is about 1.1-4.5
.mu.m, which may not be negligible with respect to the cell gap
(several microns-10 .mu.m).
Further, in forming the colored portions 12R-12B by an inkjet
method, colored inks of red, green, and blue are ejected from
inkjet nozzles. However, the viscosity of the inks must be set to a
low level to permit ink droplets to be continuously ejected from
the inkjet nozzles without clogging the nozzles with the ink
droplets. Therefore, a predetermined amount of a solvent must be
blended with the inks to be used to reduce the viscosity thereof.
As a result, even if the inks are ejected into the respective
pixels surrounded by the resin member 12Y, such that the height of
them is higher than the highest portion of the resin member 12Y,
the volume of the inks is reduced in the process for drying the
ejected inks and removing the solvent, thereby the height of the
thus formed colored portions 12R-12B is lower than the total height
of the film thickness of the light shielding layer 12X and the
height of the resin member 12Y by about 0.1-4 .mu.m.
Accordingly, in the color filter forming region 50, the maximum
height of the layer, in which the color filters 12, the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed,
corresponds to the height of between the adjacent colored portions
12R-12B, that is, to the height of the portion where the light
shielding layer 12X overlaps the resin member 12Y.
Here, the constituting materials of the respective elements
constituting the color filters 12 will the briefly described. As
described above, the colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B are formed
using the colored inks of red, green, and blue, respectively. In
contrast, the light shielding layer 12X is composed of a light
shielding material (material having a low light transmitting
property) such as a black resin containing black particles, for
example, carbon particles, and the like, a metal such as chrome,
and the like, a metal compound, and so on. Further, the resin
member 12Y is composed of a resin, and the like having no
conductivity. Note that when the resin member 12Y are composed of
the light shielding material such as the black resin, and the like,
the light shielding layer 12X can be omitted.
Next, the region where the color filters 12, the light shielding
layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed will be described. As
described above, the color filters 12 (colored portions 12R-12B)
are formed inside the inner end surface of the seal member 40, in
the color filter forming region 50 including the display region 51.
In contrast, as shown in FIG. 5, the light shielding layer 12X and
the resin member 12Y are formed on the approximately entire surface
of the color filter non-forming region (the region outside of the
color filter forming region 50), as well as between the adjacent
pixels (between the adjacent colored portions 12R-12B).
That is, the plain structure of the color filters 12, the light
shielding layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y provided with this
embodiment is as shown in FIG. 4. In the color filter forming
region 50 including the display region 51, the colored portions
12R-12B constituting the color filters 12 are disposed in a matrix
shape in correspondence to the respective pixels disposed in a
matrix shape, and the light shielding layer 12X and the resin
member 12Y are formed between the adjacent pixels (between the
adjacent colored portions 12R-12B). Accordingly, in the color
filter forming region 50 including the display region 51, the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed in a
lattice shape in a horizontal plane. Further, the light shielding
layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed on the approximately
entire surface of the color filter non-forming region located
outside the color filter forming region 50. Note that the pattern
of the colored portions 12R-12B shown in FIG. 4 is only an example
and the present invention is by no means limited to the
pattern.
Here, the approximately entire surface of the color filter
non-forming region can mean the region including the seal member 40
forming region and the lead wiring regions 52, 53a, 53b, and the
like described above and excluding the region which requires a
light transmitting property.
Further, a region where a light transmitting property is required
can mean, for example, portions where optically recognizable
alignment marks are formed or the vicinity thereof. The alignment
marks are disposed outside the seal member 40 forming portion as
marks used when the color filter substrate 10 is bonded to the
confronting substrate 20 in the manufacture of the liquid crystal
device 1. Then, in the embodiment, an effect of simultaneously
forming the light shielding layer 12X and the alignment marks can
be also obtained by partly leaving the portions outside the seal
member 40 forming region, where the light shielding layer 12X is
not formed, when the light shielding layer 12X is patterned.
For example, as shown in the corner portion of the color filter
substrate 10 illustrated in FIG. 7(a) in enlargement, when the
light shielding layer 12X is patterned such that a cross-shaped
portion 62 where the light shielding layer 12X is not formed
remains at the corner, the cross-shaped portion 62 can be optically
read, thereby serving as an alignment mark.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the light shielding layer 12X
is patterned such that a rectangular portion 63 in which the light
shielding layer 12X is not formed is formed in the corner portion
of the color filter substrate 10 and a cross-shaped portion 64 in
which the light shielding layer 12X is formed is disposed inside
the rectangular portion 63, the cross-shaped portion 64 can be
optically read, thereby serving as an alignment mark.
As described above, according to this embodiment, the resin member
12Y is formed also in the seal member 40 forming region, and in
manufacturing the liquid crystal device 1, the color filter
substrate 10 on which necessary elements such as the color filters
12 and the transparent electrodes 14 are formed is bonded to the
confronting substrate 20 on which necessary elements such as the
transparent electrodes 22 are formed, through an unhardened seal
member, and then the unhardened seal member is hardened while
pressure is applied from the outside of the color filter substrate
10 and the confronting substrate 20, to form the liquid cell. Thus
it should be noted that the resin member 12Y which is located just
under the seal member 40, must be composed of a material having
such a degree of pressure resistance as not to be deformed when the
pressure is applied from the outside of the color filter substrate
10 and the confronting substrate 20.
Next, an example of a method of forming the color filters 12, the
light shielding layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y included in the
liquid crystal device 1 of the present embodiment will be described
based on FIG. 6. Note that FIGS. 6(a)-(e) are fragmentary sectional
views showing respective forming processes.
First, the substrate main body 11 is prepared, and the light
shielding layer 12X having the pattern, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
is formed on the entire surface of the substrate main body 11.
The light shielding layer 12X, can be composed of a black resin and
has the predetermined pattern, is formed, for example, as described
below. A negative resist mainly including a black pigment
containing carbon particles, and the like, the monomer of an
acrylic resin, and the like, and a polymerization initiator is
coated on the entire surface of the substrate main body 11 by a
spin coating method, and tentatively baked. Next, the resist is
exposed at predetermined positions using a photo mask on which the
pattern of the light shielding layer 12X has been formed. The
resist having been exposed is made to a resin insoluble in a
solvent by the photo-polymerizing reaction of the monomer. Finally,
when the resist is developed, only the portions, which have been
exposed and made insoluble in a solvent, remain, thereby forming
the light shielding layer 12X having the predetermined pattern as
shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
It should be noted that the light shielding layer 12X having the
predetermined pattern is formed likewise even if a positive resist,
which is made soluble in a solvent by being exposed, is used in
place of the negative resist, which is made insoluble in a solvent
by being exposed, and the portions, where the light shielding layer
12X are not formed, are exposed.
Further, the light shielding layer 12X, which is composed of a
metal such as chrome or a metal compound and has the predetermined
pattern, may be formed, for example, as described below. The light
shielding layer 12X having the predetermined pattern shown in FIGS.
4 and 5 is formed by forming a film of a metal such as chrome or a
metal compound on the entire surface of the substrate main body 11
by sputtering, and the like, and then by forming the predetermined
pattern by photolithography.
After the light shielding layer 12X having the predetermined
pattern has been formed as described above, a light sensitive
resist for the resin member 12Y is coated on the entire surface of
the substrate main body 11, on which light shielding layer 12X has
been formed, by a spin coating method and the like, and exposed and
developed as shown in FIG. 6(b) similarly to the case in which the
light shielding layer 12X composed of the black resin, and the like
is formed, thereby forming the resin member 12Y having the pattern
as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
Next, the color filters 12 (colored portions 12R-12B) are formed
using an inkjet method. That is, as shown in FIG. 6(c), an inkjet
nozzle 60 is filled with a red ink 62R prepared by solving a red
pigment, an acrylic resin, and the like in a solvent, and the red
ink 62R is ejected from the ejection nozzles 61 of the inkjet
nozzle 60 only to the pixels which form the coloring portion 12R by
moving the inkjet 60 relatively to the substrate main body 11 with
the ejection nozzles 61 confronting the substrate main body 11. At
this time, as shown in the figure, while the resin member 12Y
acting as partitions is formed around the peripheries of the pixels
forming the respective colored portions 12R-12B, the red ink 62R is
ejected so that the central portion thereof is higher than the
highest portion of the resin member 12Y as well as no ink leaks to
the adjacent pixels.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6(d) the red coloring portion 12R is formed,
for example, by tentatively baking the red ink 62R and removing the
solvent by heating the entire substrate main body 11, onto which
the red ink 62R has been ejected, to approximately 40-180.degree.
C. In this process, the height of the thus formed coloring portion
becomes lower than the highest portion of the resin member 12Y
because the volume of the coloring portion is reduced by the
removal of the solvent from the red ink 62R.
The colored portions 12R-12B having the predetermined pattern are
formed by repeating the processes shown in FIGS. 6(c) and (d) as to
the green colored portions 12G and the blue colored portions 12G.
The color filters 12 composed of the colored portions 12R-12B
having the predetermined pattern, the light shielding layer 12X
having the predetermined pattern, and the resin member 12Y are
formed by finally baking (finally hardening) the colored portions
12R-12B by heating the entire substrate main body 11, on which
colored portions 12R-12B have been formed, to about 150-270.degree.
C.
Note that the intimate contact property of the colored portions
12R-12B to the substrate main body 11 is increased by finally
baking the colored portions 12R-12B, so that the exfoliation of the
colored portions 12R-12B from the substrate main body 11 is
prevented in a subsequent process for forming the overcoat layer
13. Further, while only the case, in which the color filters 12 are
formed in the sequence of the colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B,
has been described in this embodiment, they may be formed in any
sequence.
The color filter substrate 10 included in the liquid crystal device
1 of the embodiment employs such the arrangement that the light
shielding layer 12X is formed on the approximately entire surface
of the color filter non-forming region, in addition to the color
filter forming region 50 including the display region 51. Since the
area in which the colored portions 12R-12B are formed outside the
display region 51 is very small and corresponds only to several
pixels, it becomes possible to shield the approximately entire
surface of the non-display region from light with the light
shielding layer 12X by forming it on the approximately entire
surface of the color filter non-forming region.
Accordingly, the light shielding layer 12X can serve as a parting
member for shielding the non-display region of the liquid crystal
device 1 of the embodiment from light.
Thus, according to the color filter substrate 10 included in the
liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment and the liquid crystal
device 1 of the embodiment, the manufacturing process of electronic
equipment can be simplified by mounting the liquid crystal device 1
of the embodiment thereon because the parting member and the light
shielding layer 12X are formed in one process.
The manufacturing cost of electronic equipment is also reduced by
mounting the liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment thereon
because a parting member need not be provided separately. Further,
since the parting member need not be provided separately, and a
margin which has been necessary due to the mounting accuracy of the
parting member when it is mounted on the electronic equipment can
be eliminated, an effect of increasing the area of the surface
region of the electronic equipment is also obtained by mounting the
liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment.
Further, the color filter substrate 10 included in the liquid
crystal device 1 of the embodiment further employs such the
arrangement that the colored portions 12R-12B are formed by an
inkjet method, and the resin member 12Y which is formed on the
substrate main body 11 around the peripheries of the respective
colored portions 12R-12B, when the colored portions 12R-12B are
formed, in order to partition the respective pixels for forming the
respective colored portions 12R-12B, are formed on the
approximately entire surface of the color filter non-forming
region, in addition to the color filter forming region 50 including
the display region 51.
As described above, the highest place of the color filter forming
region 50 in which the color filters 12, the light shielding layer
12X and the resin member 12Y are formed, is between the adjacent
colored portions 12R-12B, that is, the height of the portion where
the light shielding layer 12X overlaps the resin member 12Y. In the
color filter substrate 10 included in the liquid crystal device 1
of the embodiment, however, since the light shielding layer 12X and
the resin member 12Y are formed on the approximately entire surface
of the color filter non-forming region, the maximum height of the
color filter forming region 50 is made equal to the maximum height
of the color filter non-forming region in the layer in which the
color filters 12, the light shielding layer 12X, and the resin
member 12Y are formed as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, any step
between the color filter forming region 50 and the color filter
non-forming region can be removed on the surfaces of the color
filters 12, thereby the entire surfaces of the color filters 12
being approximately flattened.
Thus, according to the color filter substrate 10 included in the
liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment and according to the
liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment, the surface of the color
filter substrate 10 is more flattened than that of a conventional
color filter substrate, so that an effect of providing a liquid
crystal device excellent in display quality can be also obtained
because the cell gap is uniformly arranged.
Further, since the surface of the color filter substrate 10 is more
flattened than that of the conventional color filter substrate, the
transparent electrodes 14 (or the lead wirings 14a) formed on the
color filters 12 are prevented from being broken, thereby realizing
an effect of improving the yield rate of nondefective products.
Further, in the liquid crystal device 1 of the embodiment, both the
light shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed on
the approximately entire surfaces of the color filter non-forming
region. Thus, even if the seal member 40 is formed on the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y and the thicknesses of
the light shielding layer 12X and resin member 12Y are changed
without changing the thickness of the seal member 40, the cell gaps
are not affected thereby at all. Thus, according to the embodiment,
an effect of stabilizing the cell gaps is also obtained.
Note that while both the light shielding layer 12X and the resin
member 12Y are formed on the approximately entire surface of the
color filter non-forming region in the embodiment, it should be
understood the present invention is not limited thereto and only
the resin member 12Y may be formed on the approximately entire
surface of the color filter non-forming region.
In the layer in which the color filters 12, the light shielding
layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed, the highest portion
of the color filter forming region 50 is between the adjacent
colored portions 12R-12B, that is, the portion where the light
shielding layer 12X overlaps the resin member 12Y. Thus, the
difference between maximum height of the color filter forming
region 50 and that of the color filter non-forming region may be
reduced in the layer in which the color filters 12, the light
shielding layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y are formed by forming
the resin member 12Y on the approximately entire surface of the
color filter non-forming region. As a result, there is obtained an
effect of reducing the step between the color filter forming region
50 and the color filter non-forming region on the surface of the
color filter substrate 10 and more flattening the surface of the
color filter substrate 10 than that of the conventional color
filter substrate, similarly to this embodiment.
In this arrangement, however, the light shielding layer 12X is not
formed on the approximately entire surfaces of the color filter
non-forming region. Thus, it is preferable to form the resin member
12Y of a light shielding material and to cause the resin member 12Y
to act as a parting member.
While the example in which the present invention is applied to the
passive matrix type transmissive liquid crystal device has been
described in the first embodiment, the present invention is by no
means limited thereto. Now, a structure of an electrooptical device
according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be
described. This embodiment shows an example in which the present
invention is applied to an active matrix type transmissive liquid
crystal device using TFT (thin-film transistor) elements as
switching elements (refer to FIG. 8). FIG. 8 is an exploded
perspective view showing an entire structure of a liquid crystal
device of this embodiment. The liquid crystal device of the
embodiment can be provided with the color filters included in the
liquid crystal device of the first embodiment. Thus, the same
components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same
reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Note
that similarly to the first embodiment, description will be given
to an example in which the color filter substrate is disposed on an
observer side in this embodiment.
The liquid crystal device 2 of this embodiment is approximately
composed of a color filter substrate 80 and an element substrate 90
disposed in confrontation with each other with a liquid crystal
layer (not shown) held therebetween.
The element substrate 90 is approximately arranged such that TFT
elements 94, pixel electrodes 95, and the like are formed on the
surface of a substrate main body 91 on the liquid crystal layer
side thereof, and an orientation film (not shown) is formed on them
on the liquid crystal layer side thereof. Further, the color filter
substrate 80 is approximately arranged such that color filters 12,
an overcoat layer (not shown), a common electrode 82, and an
orientation film (not shown) are sequentially laminated on the
surface of a substrate main body 81 on the liquid crystal layer
side thereof.
In this embodiment, an end portion of the element substrate 90 is
located outside the color filter substrate 80, and is provided with
an externally connecting terminal section. In the figure, however,
for the purpose of simplification, the externally connecting
terminal section is omitted and the color filter substrate 80 and
the element substrate 90 are shown to have an same area. Further,
the color filter substrate 80 is bonded to the element substrate 90
at the respective peripheral edges thereof through a seal member
(not shown).
In more detail, in the element substrate 90, a multiplicity of data
lines 92 and a multiplicity of scan lines 93 are formed on the
surface of the substrate main body 91 in a lattice shape so as to
intersect with each other. The TFT elements 94 are formed in the
vicinities of the intersections of the respective data lines 92 and
the respective scan lines 93, and the pixel electrodes 95 are
connected through the respective TFT elements 94. When the entire
surface of the element substrate 90 is observed from its liquid
crystal layer side, the multiplicity of pixel electrodes 95 are
disposed in a matrix shape, and the regions, in which the
respective pixel electrodes 95 are formed, are arranged as
respective pixels in the liquid crystal device 2. Further, the
respective data lines 92 and the respective scan lines 93 are
electrically connected to the externally connecting terminal
section (not shown) disposed to the element substrate 90 through
lead wirings 92a and 93a connected to one ends thereof,
respectively.
Further, the color filters 12 and the overcoat layer included in
the color filter substrate 80 have the same structures as those of
the color filters and the overcoat layer included in the liquid
crystal device of the first embodiment. That is, each of the color
filters 12 included in this embodiment is composed of red (R),
green (G), and blue (B) colored portions 12R, 12G, and 12B formed
in correspondence to each pixel in a color filter forming region 50
including a display region.
Further, on the surface of the color filter substrate 80, a light
shielding layer 12X and a resin member 12Y are formed between the
adjacent pixels (the adjacent colored portions 12R-12B) in the
color filter forming region 50, and on the approximately entire
surface of a color filter non-forming region including a seal
member forming region and lead wire regions.
Further, the common electrode 82 is formed on the approximately
entire surface of the color filter substrate 80 on the liquid
crystal layer side of the color filters 12 and electrically
connected to the externally connecting terminal section (not shown)
disposed to the element substrate 90 through a
vertically-conducting section (not shown) formed at a portion of a
seal member.
As described above, the present invention can be also applied to an
active matrix type liquid crystal device using TFT elements, and
the color filter substrate 80 included in the liquid crystal device
2 of this embodiment has the color filters 12, the light shielding
layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y included in the liquid crystal
device of the first embodiment. As a result, the second embodiment
can obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment.
That is, according to the color filter substrate 80 included in the
liquid crystal device 2 of this embodiment and according to the
liquid crystal device 2 of the embodiment, a manufacturing process
of electronic equipment can be simplified by mounting the liquid
crystal device 2 of this embodiment thereon because a parting
member and the light shielding layer 12X are formed in one process,
so that the manufacturing cost of the electronic equipment can be
reduced as well as the area of the display region of the electronic
equipment can be increased.
Further, according to the color filter substrate 80 included in the
liquid crystal device 2 of this embodiment and to the liquid
crystal device 2 of the embodiment, the surface of the color filter
substrate 80 is more flattened than that of a conventional color
filter substrate and cell gaps are uniformly arranged, thereby an
effect of providing a liquid crystal device excellent in display
quality being also obtained. Further, since the surface of the
color filter substrate 80 is more flattened than that of the
conventional color filter substrate, the common electrode 82 (or
the lead wirings connected to the common electrodes 82) formed on
the color filters 12 can be prevented from being broken, thereby
improving the yield rate of nondefective products.
Further, in the liquid crystal device 2 of the embodiment, both the
light shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed on
the approximately entire surface of the color filter non-forming
regions. Thus, even if the seal member is formed on the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y and the thicknesses of
the light shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are changed
without changing the thickness of the seal member, the cell gaps
are not affected thereby at all. Thus, according to this
embodiment, an effect of stabilizing the cell gaps can be also
obtained.
Next, a structure of an electrooptical device of a third embodiment
of the present invention will be described. This embodiment shows
an example in which the present invention is applied to an active
matrix type transmissive liquid crystal device using TFD (thin-film
diode) elements as switching elements. FIG. 8 is an exploded
perspective view showing an entire structure of the liquid crystal
device of the embodiment. The liquid crystal device of the
embodiment is provided with the color filters included in the
liquid crystal device of the first embodiment. Thus, the same
components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same
reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
Further, an example, in which a color filter substrate is disposed
on an observer side similarly to the first embodiment, will be
described also in this embodiment.
The liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment is approximately
composed of a color filter substrate 100 and an element substrate
10 disposed in confrontation with each other with a liquid crystal
layer (not shown) held therebetween. The element substrate 110 is
approximately arranged such that TFD elements 114, pixel electrodes
113, and the like are formed on the surface of a substrate main
body 111 on the liquid crystal layer side thereof, and an
orientation film (not shown) is formed on them on the liquid
crystal layer side thereof. Further, the color filter substrate 100
is approximately arranged such that color filters 12, an overcoat
layer (not shown), scan lines (confronting electrodes) 102, and an
orientation film (not shown) are sequentially laminated on the
surface of a substrate main body 101 on the liquid crystal layer
side thereof.
It should be noted that an externally connecting terminal section
is disposed to at least one of the color filter substrate 100 and
the element substrate 110, and the portion where the externally
connecting terminal section is disposed is located outside the
confronting substrate, similarly to the first embodiment. However,
in the figure, the color filter substrate 100 and the element
substrate 110 are illustrated to have the same area as well as the
illustration of the externally connecting terminal section is
omitted for the purpose of simplification. Further, the color
filter substrate 100 is bonded to the element substrate 110 at the
respective peripheral edges thereof through a seal member (not
shown).
In more detail, in the element substrate 110, a multiplicity of
data lines 112 are disposed on the surface of a substrate main body
111 in a stripe shape, and a multiplicity of pixel electrodes 113
are connected to the respective data lines 112 through the TFD
elements 114. When the entire surface of the element substrate 110
on the liquid crystal layer side thereof is observed, the
multiplicity of pixel electrodes 113 are disposed in a matrix
shape, and the regions, in which the respective pixel electrodes
113 are formed, are arranged as respective pixels in the liquid
crystal device 3. Further, the respective data lines 112 are
electrically connected to the externally connecting terminal
section (not shown) disposed to at least one of the substrates
through the lead wirings 112a connected to one ends of the data
lines 112.
Further, the color filters 12 and the overcoat layer included in
the color filter substrate 100 have the same structures as those of
the color filters and the overcoat layer included in the liquid
crystal device of the first embodiment, and each of the color
filters 12 is composed of red (R), G (green), and B (blue) colored
portions 12R-12B formed in correspondence to each pixel in a color
filter forming region 50 including a display region.
Further, a light shielding layer 12X and a resin member 12Y are
formed between the adjacent pixels (the adjacent colored portions
12R-12B) in the color filter forming region 50 and on the
approximately entire surface of a color filter non-forming region
including a seal member forming region and lead wire regions on the
surface of the color filter substrate 80.
Further, in the color filter substrate 100, the strip-shaped scan
lines (confronting electrodes) 102 are formed on the liquid crystal
layer side of the color filters 12 in a direction intersecting the
direction in which the data lines 112 of the element substrate 110
extend. The scan lines 102 are also electrically connected to the
externally connecting terminal section (not shown) disposed to at
least one of the substrates through the lead wirings (not shown)
connected to one ends of the scan lines 102.
As described above, the present invention can be also applied to an
active matrix type liquid crystal device using TFD elements, and
the color filter substrate 100 included in the liquid crystal
device 3 of this embodiment has the color filters 12, the light
shielding layer 12X, and the resin member 12Y which are included in
the liquid crystal device of the first embodiment. As a result, the
third embodiment can obtain the same effects as those of the first
embodiment.
That is, according to the color filter substrate 100 included in
the liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment and according to the
liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment, a manufacturing process
of electronic equipment can be simplified by mounting the liquid
crystal device 3 of the embodiment thereon because a parting member
and the light shielding layer 12X are formed in one process, so
that the manufacturing cost of the electronic equipment can be
reduced as well as the area of the display region of the electronic
equipment can be increased.
Further, according to the color filter substrate 100 included in
the liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment and according to the
liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment, the surface of the
color filter substrate 100 can be more flattened than the surface
of a conventional color filter substrate and cell gaps can be
uniformly arranged, thereby realizing an effect of providing a
liquid crystal device excellent in display quality. Further, since
the surface of the color filter substrate 100 can be more flattened
than the surface of the conventional color filter substrate, scan
lines 102 (or the lead wirings connected to the scan lines 102)
formed on the color filters are prevented from being broken,
thereby realizing an effect of improving the yield rate of
nondefective products.
Further, in the liquid crystal device 3 of this embodiment, both
the light shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are formed
on the approximately entire surface of the color filter non-forming
region. Thus, even if the seal member is formed on the light
shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y and the thicknesses of
the light shielding layer 12X and the resin member 12Y are changed
without changing the thickness of the seal member, the cell gaps
are not affected thereby at all. Thus, according to the embodiment,
an effect of stabilizing the cell gaps is also obtained.
It should be noted that while only the case in which the color
filter substrate side is located on the observer side has been
described in the first to third embodiments, the present invention
is by no means limited thereto, and the color filter substrate side
may be located on a light incident side. Similar effects to those
of the first to third embodiments can be also obtained in this
case. Further, while only a transmissive liquid crystal device has
been described in the first to third embodiments, the present
invention is by no means limited thereto, and the present invention
is also applicable to a reflective liquid crystal device and a
reflective/semi-transmissive liquid crystal device, that is, it is
applicable to a liquid crystal device of any structure.
Next, a structure of an electrooptical device of a fourth
embodiment according to the present invention will be
described.
This embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is
applied to an active matrix type organic EL device (electrooptical
device) using electroluminescence elements as pixels.
In manufacturing an organic EL device by an inkjet method, a first
composition, which contains a positive hole injection layer forming
material, or a second composition, which contains a light emitting
layer forming material, is formed by an inkjet method. That is, the
first composition containing the positive hole injection layer
material dissolved or dispersed in a solvent or the second
composition containing the light emitting material dissolved or
dispersed in a solvent is ejected from an inkjet head and formed on
electrodes composed of ITO (transparent electrodes). Note that
partitions (hereinafter, referred to as banks) for partitioning
pixel regions where the ITO is formed are provided so that the
ejected ink droplets (liquid droplets) can accurately pattern-coat
the predetermined pixel regions.
FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of an example of a substrate
structure of the organic EL device formed by an inkjet method. A
circuit element portion 1011' having thin film transistors (TFTs)
1011 are formed on a glass substrate 1010, and transparent
electrodes 1012 composed of an ITO are patterned on the circuit
element portion 1011'. Further, a first bank 1013 composed of SiO2
and an organic material bank (second bank) 1014 composed of an
organic material which is ink-repellent or arranged to have
ink-repellency are laminated on each of the regions for
partitioning the transparent electrodes 1012. While the opening of
the banks (that is, the shape of each pixel region) may have any of
a circular shape, an oval shape, and a square shape, the openings
having the square shape are preferably rounded at the corners
thereof because the ink composition has a surface tension. The
material of the organic material bank 1014 is not particularly
limited so long as it is excellent in heat resistance, liquid
repellency, ink solvent resistance, and adhesion to a base
substrate. The organic material bank 1014 need not be composed of a
material having liquid-repellency by nature, for example, a
fluorine resin and may be composed of an ordinarily employed
organic resin, such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, etc.
which is patterned and whose surface may be made liquid-repellent
by being subjected to CF4 plasma processing, and the like. The
banks are not limited to the laminated inorganic and organic
materials as described above. For example, when the organic
material banks 1014 are composed of the ITO, it is preferable to
provide SiO2 banks 1013 to improve the adhesion to the organic
material banks 1014. The organic material banks 1014 preferably
have a height of about 1-2 .mu.m.
Next, an example of a method of manufacturing the organic EL device
(electrooptical device) by an inkjet method will be described
according to the cross sectional structures thereof at respective
processes with reference to FIG. 12.
In FIG. 12(A), a solution (a first composition) containing the
positive hole injection layer forming material is coated on a
substrate having a bank structure as liquid droplets by an inkjet
method. Next, a solution (an ink composition) containing the
organic EL element (light-emitting layer forming material) is
coated as ink droplets. Then, an organic EL thin film is formed.
The first composition containing the positive hole injection layer
forming material and the second composition 1015 containing the
organic EL material are ejected from an inkjet head 1016 and
reached as shown in FIG. 12(B) so that they are pattern coated.
After the completion of coating, the solvent is removed by vacuum
and/or heat processing or by a flow of a nitrogen gas, and the
like, thereby organic EL thin film layers 1017 are formed (FIG.
12(C). Each of the organic EL thin film layers 1017 is a laminated
film composed of, for example, a positive hole injection layer and
a light-emitting layer.
FIG. 13 shows a plan view of a substrate employed in this
embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the substrate 1201 is mainly
composed of a not shown circuit element portion formed on a glass
substrate 1202, a plurality of light-emitting elements 1204 formed
on the circuit element portion, and alignment marks 1205. In the
substrate 1201 of FIG. 13, 16 pieces of the light-emitting elements
1204 are disposed on a matrix of 4 columns by 4 rows. The organic
material banks 1014 are formed between the respective
light-emitting elements 1204 on the glass substrate 1202. Further,
the alignment marks 1205 and the organic material banks 1014 can be
simultaneously patterned. This makes the number of processes and
the manufacturing cost reduced.
Further, the inkjet head H pattern coats the organic EL material
ink composition 1015 on the substrate by moving relatively to the
substrate as shown by broken lines of FIG. 13.
At this time, the banks are formed up to the ends of the substrate
(refer to FIG. 11). The formation of the banks up to the ends
permits the banks to have surfaces with high flatness. Accordingly,
ones of the electrodes (for example, cathodes) constituting the
organic EL elements are not broken or no pinhole is formed.
Further, when the substrate is sealed, a seal structure excellent
in flatness is obtained because the substrate has high flatness
over the entire surface thereof. That is, an approximately flat
layer can be formed on the organic EL elements in a can seal in
which the organic EL elements are sealed by a can structure, in an
entire seal in which a resin is coated on the entire surfaces of
the organic EL elements, and in an thin film seal in which thin
films are laminated. Accordingly, in a top emission type of a
device in which light emission is executed on a side opposite to
the substrate, for example, a uniform display is obtained without
optical difference over the entire surface of the substrate because
the surface of the organic EL elements is flat over the entire
surface of the substrate. If the thickness of the layer between the
organic EL elements and the sealing substrate is not uniform, an
uneven display is executed due the occurrence of an optical
difference caused by the difference in a film thickness.
In the present invention, a bonding (sealing) resin can be formed
flatly on the organic EL elements because a resin layer is formed
over the entire surface of the substrate. Accordingly, no optical
difference is caused in the sealing resin, so that no unevenness is
caused in display characteristics.
Next, a specific example of electronic equipment including any one
of the electrooptical devices 1-4 of the above first to fourth
embodiments will be described. FIG. 14(a) is a perspective view
showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 14(a), reference
numeral 700 denotes a mobile phone main body, and reference numeral
701 denotes a display unit using any one of the electrooptical
devices 1-4.
FIG. 14(b) is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile
information processing apparatus such as a word processor and a
personal computer. In FIG. 14(b), reference numeral 800 denotes an
information processing apparatus, reference numeral 801 denotes an
input unit such as a keyboard, reference numeral 803 denotes an
information processing apparatus main body, and reference numeral
802 denotes a display unit using any one of the electrooptical
devices 1-4.
FIG. 14(c) is a perspective view showing an example of wrist watch
type electronic equipment. In FIG. 14(c), reference numeral 900
denotes a watch main body, and reference numeral 901 denotes a
display unit using any one of the electrooptical devices 1-4.
Since the electronic equipment shown in FIG. 14(a)-(c) includes the
display unit using any one of the electrooptical devices 1-4, the
manufacturing process thereof is simplified and the manufacturing
cost thereof is reduced as well as the electronic equipment is
provided with a display region whose area is increased or the
electronic equipment is excellent in display quality and has an
improved yield rate of nondefective products.
As described above in detail, according to the first color filter
substrate of the present invention, since the resin layer having a
light shielding property is formed on the approximately entire
surface of the color filter non-forming region, in addition to the
display region and further the alignment marks are composed of the
resin material, the parting member, the light shielding layer, and
the alignment marks are formed in one process. Accordingly, the
manufacturing process of the electronic equipment is simplified by
mounting the liquid crystal device including the first color filter
substrate of the present invention thereon, thereby the
manufacturing cost of the electronic equipment is reduced and the
area of the display region of the electronic equipment is
increased.
Further, according to the second color filter substrate of the
present invention, the surface of the color filter substrate is
more flattened than that of the conventional color filter
substrate. This is because the colored portions constituting each
color filter are formed by an inkjet system as well as the resin
material, which partitions the portions where the colored portions
are formed, is formed on the approximately entire surface of the
color filter non-forming region when the colored portions are
formed, in addition along the peripheries of the respective colored
portions. Accordingly, the cell gaps are uniformly arranged and the
liquid crystal device excellent in display quality is provided by
arranging the liquid crystal device using the second color filter
substrate of the present invention. Further, since the surface of
the color filter substrate is more flattened than that of the
conventional color filter substrate, the electrodes, the wirings,
and the like formed on the color filters are prevented from being
broken, thereby improving the yield rate of nondefective products.
Further, since the alignment marks are composed of the resin
material, the inter-pixel partition members and the alignment marks
are formed in one process. Accordingly, the manufacturing process
of the electronic equipment is simplified by mounting the liquid
crystal device including the second color filter substrate of the
present invention thereon, thereby the manufacturing cost of the
electronic equipment is reduced and the area of the display region
of the electronic equipment is increased.
Additionally, according to the electroluminescence substrate of the
present invention, since the organic material banks and the
alignment marks are composed of resin material, the organic
material banks and the alignment marks are formed in the same
process. Thus, the manufacturing process of the electronic
equipment is simplified and the manufacturing cost thereof can be
reduced by mounting the liquid crystal device including the
electroluminescence substrate of the present invention thereon.
Further, the electrooptical device of the present invention can be
provided by using the first or second color filter substrate or the
electroluminescence substrate of the present invention. Further,
the electronic equipment of the present invention may be provided
by using the electrooptical device of the present invention. Then,
according to the electrooptical device and the electronic equipment
of the present invention, similar effects are obtained to those of
the first or second color filter substrate and the
electroluminescence substrate of the present invention.
* * * * *